Coming off its most successful Olympics in 12 years, Team USA once again will field a young, potentially powerful team for the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, August 6-14 in Helsinki, Finland.

Team USA will look to match its typical World Championships medal tally of 17-19 medals in Helsinki and is coming off an Olympic Games in which it won a surprising 25 medals.

A total of 131 athletes - 70 men and 61 women - will be part of the U.S. delegation for the World Championships. With an average age under 26.5 years, and 45 percent of the team age 25 or under, the team is even younger than the youth-driven squad that took Athens by storm.

Youth, experience blend

On the Team USA roster for Helsinki are 27 Olympic medalists - including 2004 champions Justin Gatlin, Joanna Hayes, Jeremy Wariner, Dwight Phillips and Shawn Crawford - and 16 previous World Championships medalists, including four-time defending champion Allen Johnson and fellow defending champions Phillips and John Capel.

Other individual Olympic medalists on the roster are Lauryn Williams, Allyson Felix, Terrence Trammell, Toby Stevenson, Meb Keflezighi, Adam Nelson, John Godina, Matt Hemingway, Bryan Clay, Derrick Brew, Allen Johnson, Maurice Greene, Nick Hysong and Stacy Dragila. Relay medalists include Sanya Richards, Monique Hennagan, Dee Dee Trotter, Monique Henderson, Moushaumi Robinson, LaTasha Colander, Darold Williamson and Andrew Rock.

World Championships individual medalists include Johnson, Phillips, Capel, Trammell, Nelson, Godina, Greene, Dragila, Hysong, Curt Clausen and Sandra Glover; relay medalists are Derrick Brew, Richards, Trotter, Suziann Reid and Lisa Barber.

World leaders

In addition, as of July 27, eight athletes had world-leading marks in their events thus far in 2005. Men's world leaders are Wallace Spearmon (200m, 19.89), Jeremy Wariner (400m, 44.20), 2005 Outdoor Visa Champion Kerron Clement (400m hurdles, 47.24), Dwight Phillips (LJ, 8.47m/27-9.5), and 2005 Visa Indoor Champion John Godina (SP, 22.20m/72-10).

Women's world leaders are Allyson Felix (200m, 22.13), 2005 Outdoor Visa Champion Sanya Richards (400m, 49.28) and Michelle Perry (100m hurdles, 12.43).

Relay pools announced

Any athlete competing in an individual event is eligible to take part in relays at the World Championships. In addition, relay pool spots were assigned to the following athletes:

Men's 4x100m - Maurice Greene, DaBryan Blanton, Monzavous Edwards, Mark Jelks and Mardy Scales; women's 4x100: indoor Visa Champion Angela Daigle and Olympian LaShaunte'a Moore; men's 4x400: Derrick Brew and Miles Smith; women's 4x400: Monique Hennagan, Suziann Reid, Moushaumi Robinson.

For more information ...

The 2005 World Championships will be broadcast in the United States daily on the PAX network; 58 hours of live Webcast coverage also is available for under $5 at www.wcsn.com.

The full Team USA roster by event, visit www.usatf.org.